The present invention relates to a passive safety belt system in which a safety belt is moved toward and away from an occupant of a vehicle.
A known passive safety belt system includes a track which lies above the door of a vehicle. A carrier is connected with a safety belt and moves in opposite directions along the track. When the carrier is moved in a rearward direction along the track, the safety belt is moved toward the occupant of the vehicle to position the safety belt to restrain movement of the occupant in the event of an accident. When an occupant is to exit the vehicle, the carrier is moved forwardly along the track to move the safety belt away from the occupant to facilitate exiting from the vehicle. Known passive seat belt systems of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,365, issued Dec. 6, 1977, and entitled "Safety System for Protection of Automotive Seat Occupant"; 4,313,622, issued Feb. 2, 1982 and entitled "Passive Seatbelt System"; and 4,475,745, issued Oct. 9, 1984 and entitled "Seat Belt Drive Device".
Since a passive safety belt system is mounted in the passenger compartment of a vehicle, it is important that the safety belt system be compact. Even more importantly, the apparatus for moving a safety belt toward and away from the occupant of the vehicle must be durable and capable of moving a carrier back and forth along a track through many cycles of operation. Due to commercial considerations, the cost of a passive safety belt system which meets these requirements should be as low as possible.